| | | | | White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders hands over the podium to White House physician Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson at the press briefing Tuesday. Credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images | | | Ah, So That's How He Did It: What Michael Wolff said and did to get into the White House
Fox News Killed Stormy Daniels Story: It was filed in October 2016 but never pubbed
Here's the Cognitive Test Trump Took: Do you know your animal names, ABCs, and 12s? | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump today attends the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony on Capitol Hill, honoring former Sen. Bob Dole.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
Steve Bannon's struck a deal. After 10 hours before the House Intelligence Committee yesterday, Bannon's lawyer confirmed that Trump's former chief strategist will next be interviewed by prosecutors on Robert Mueller's team instead of having to testify before a grand jury. This makes Bannon the closest member of Trump's inner circle expected to cooperate with Mueller's investigation.
When You Know Too Much About the President's Health:
Because by the time Dr. Ronny Jackson said the word "colonoscopy" I had my fingers in my ears and was going "la la la la." During the extremely detailed revelation of Trump's four-hour physical last week, Jackson pronounced Trump to be in great health -- a lot of which is owed to the President abstaining from alcohol and tobacco. He also chalked it up to plain ol' genetics, with which Trump appears to have been blessed. Jackson said Trump has "excellent genes" because it's "just the way God made him." I have to say, about halfway through the almost hour-long briefing by Jackson, I looked at Hunter and was like, ok, the press has officially run out of questions. Someone asked, "Did you address drug addiction?" to which Jackson actually laughed. He was also hammered with questions about Trump's personal habits, like does he watch too much TV, because if he does, then he'll lose his eyesight -- jk, that's just what my parents told me when I would watch too much WHEN I WAS SEVEN. To his credit, Jackson was just doing what his boss told him to do: "[I think] the President encouraged me to come out, and he specifically told me, he said, 'I want you to get out there. I want you to talk to them. And I want you to answer every single question they have.'" Donald Trump Jr., like me, also felt the media was trying too hard to trap Jackson into revealing something dastardly about his father's physical condition. | | Credit: @donaldtrumpjr/Instagram
Ah, So That's How He Did It:
Bloomberg's Jennifer Jacobs has helpful reporting on the question a lot of us were asking after the release of Michael Wolff's book, "Fire & Fury: Inside the Trump White House": How did he get inside the White House? Apparently, Wolff sort of conned his way in, telling WH aides the book was tentatively titled, "The Great Transition: The First 100 Days of the Trump Administration." And then he did the whole runaround thing with various Trump staff, letting each assume their co-workers were cool with talking to him for the book, so that they would then talk to him for the book. Writes Jacobs, "Nearly everyone who spoke with Wolff thought someone else in the White House had approved their participation. And it appears that not a single person in a position of authority to halt cooperation with the book -- including Trump himself -- raised any red flags, despite Wolff's well-documented history."
Yelp's Revenge:
The Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., took a beating on Yelp in the wake of the president's "shithole/house" comments. With more than 800 one-star reviews in a matter of days, the luxury property's ratings slipped from 4 out of 5 stars to 2 out of 5 stars. Here's an example of what the reviews are like: | | Credit: yelp.com
Trump's Off, Like, By A Lot, on His Statements About Support from Black Americans:
The president yesterday tweeted that his approval among black Americans has doubled. Only it hasn't. Just after his inauguration, polling indicated Trump's approval rating was at 15% among black Americans. But a recent Gallup poll showed it has now dropped to 6%, and a December poll by CNN indicated his disapproval numbers from black Americans stood at a whopping 91%. | | Dress Like the First Daughter:
If you guys read me regularly, you know I'm oftentimes confused by Ivanka Trump's outfits. Yesterday was one of those times. She wore a sort of clunky velvet suit, with a white blouse and black string bow-tie situation, to the "Conversations with American Women" event at the White House, and it just didn't work for me. (Also, speaking of the event, which was put on by the senior female members of the Trump administration, according to a West Wing press release -- the one person noticeably absent from the event was perhaps the most powerful Trump woman of all, the first lady. I pinged her office and was told Melania Trump had a previous engagement and couldn't make it, but I found the whole thing unusual, tbh. I would also add that not one member of the first lady's mostly female staff -- from her chief of staff to her policy director and her communications director -- were in attendance, even though the East Wing offices are literally across the building from the West Wing.)
But back to Ivanka's outfit. The blouse was by Alexis, and it's on sale here for $167. | | | Credit: Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images, revolve.com | | What Washington is Talking About:
We're now three days away from a possible government shutdown. Republican leaders announced a temporary deal that would avert a shutdown until the middle of February, but the House Freedom Caucus said its members had a few more demands before they would support it. Representatives from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are testifying on combatting extremism before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, while the House Rules committee is discussing bringing back earmarks.
What America is Talking About:
Ann Curry said she's "not surprised" about the allegations against Matt Lauer.
What PyeongChang is Talking About:
Athletes from North Korea and South Korea will march together at the 2018 Games Opening Ceremony under the Korean Unification Flag, South Korea announced today. The flag, below at the 2003 World Student Games, shows a blue outline of the Korean Peninsula on a white background: | | Credit: Kim Jae-Hwan/AFP/Getty Images
Poll of the Day:
The 2017 Gallup/Knight Foundation Survey on Trust, Media and Democracy, released Tuesday, found 24% of American adults believe Fox News is objective, more than any other news source. That figure is buoyed by an astonishing partisan split: 60% of Repubs believe Fox News is objective. | | Credit: Knight Foundation
Fox News Killed Stormy Daniels Story Right Before the Election:
The network did not publish a story filed in October 2016 by Diana Falzone about the alleged affair between Trump and adult actress Stormy Daniels, four sources told our Oliver Darcy. Falzone had an on-the-record statement from Stormy Daniel's then-manager saying she had a sexual relationship with Trump. Fox News did not respond to a request for comment.
InTouch Runs Stormy Daniels Cover Story:
The tabloid says it interviewed the adult actress in 2011 and that she took and passed a polygraph test at the time of the interview. You can read more deets here. | | Credit: Knight Foundation
Flake Shares Mormon Hymn Lyrics in Senate Floor Speech:
In his speech this morning criticizing Trump's attacks on the free press, Sen. Jeff Flake said we live "in an era in which the authoritarian impulse is reasserting itself" and quoted the fourth verse of Mormon hymn written by a Mormon missionary born in 1827 called "Oh Say, What Is Truth?"
Then say, what is truth? 'Tis the last and the first,
For the limits of time it steps o'er.
Tho the heavens depart and the earth's fountains burst,
Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst,
Eternal, unchanged, evermore.
Here's the Cognitive Test Trump Took:
Per his doctor yesterday, Trump took and passed the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, AKA MoCA. Below are the first few questions on the test. Trump scored 30 out of 30. Amazing.
Email me at coverlinehunter@cnn.com if you think you know the three animals in the naming section. | | Credit: mocatest
Tiffany Trump's Friend Wasn't Happy About the Wedding:
Andrew Warren, who celebrated his birthday in Las Vegas this past weekend with friends including Tiffany Trump, wasn't happy that two of his friends got hitched while they were there, comparing it to "Jennifer Lopez planning a surprise wedding during Mariah Carey's birthday weekend." He told our Betsy Klein "it was nice of Tiffany to be a part of it, but she really had no plans to be in Vegas for that" and slammed his newlywed friends, saying "some people just need attention." Dramaaaaaaa.
Street Art Sighting:
This "Oprah for President" poster went up in downtown Los Angeles Friday. The face in the "O" is the logo for the clothing brand I Am Gay, and the design is inspired by the film "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," designer and spokesperson Savannah Sullivan told me in a phone call. The space, near where the 10 freeway meets the 110, has had other politically themed signs before, including one that said "Trump Now" after Trump was elected (someone climbed up and painted over the "W" so it said "Trump No," Sullivan said). And back in 2015 there was a "Kanye 2020?" sign you can peep here. | | Credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
If you spot political street art, I'd love to see it. Here's how you can reach me:
1. Tweet me @hunterschwarz
2. Tag me on Instagram @hunterschwarz
3. Email me at coverlinehunter@cnn.com | | | | | | |
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